18 November 2013: The Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) announced a report from the Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins (ASB) hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) highlighting the lessons learned and outcomes from the project, ‘Reduced Emission from All Land Use (REALU)’.

According to the report, REALU seeks to combine REDD+ approaches with climate smart agriculture and landscapes in four countries: Cameroon, Indonesia, Peru and Viet Nam. The project notes that many drivers of deforestation occur outside forest areas, and that full landscape accounting would present a more equitable and accurate mechanism for assessment.

The project addresses two key areas: REDD+ through the conservation of forest carbon stocks, and REDD+ through agroforestry intensification. Together, actions were intended to evaluate the enabling conditions for landscape scale emission reductions.

The report on the outcomes of the project notes that there is significant potential for carbon emission reductions in areas without significant forest cover, but with high carbon stocks, but that emission sources beyond landscapes should also be identified and considered.

The report also notes that incentive mechanisms should focus on more than just emission reductions and that private sector involvement will be an important criterion for success. Finally, the report underscores the importance of frameworks for REDD+ at multiple levels, including the sub-national level as well as national level integration of landscape approaches.

The REALU project was implemented from 2009-2013 with support from the Government of Norway. ICRAF is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Publication: Towards a Landscape Approach for Reducing Emissions] [Congo Basin Forest Partnership News]